Falling Apart (A Maddie Ziegler, Dance Moms fanfiction)
by AugustHope
Summary: As the Junior Elite Team of the ALDC start filming Season 5 of Dance Moms, everything starts to change. Maddie's world will be turned upside down - at least, when she's at the studio. As she struggles to cope, the eldest Ziegler finds her life spiralling out of control. Can she hold on to what she has left, or will everything start to fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I haven't finished Dance For Your Life yet but I will still be updating that as well as this new story :) enjoy!**  
>I brush my long hair into a high ponytail as I stand in the dancers' den, waiting impatiently to go into Studio A. I tie my hair with a pink band, which I chose to match my new dance wear. I sit down on the bench that lines the pale blue walls, watching the other girls. Mackenzie is on her phone, probably playing Dumb Ways To Die or taking stupid selfies for her snapchat story. Nia has already started stretching, and Kendall's sorting her hair for the tenth time this morning - I'm not even exaggerating. One tiny strand falls out of her tight bun and she sighs, letting her hair fall down her back before she tries again.<br>The door opens, interrupting my train of thought, and Gianna walks in.  
>"Girls, you need to go in now. Your moms are in there, and Abby will be through in a minute."<br>I go in first, walking confidently to my usual spot in front of the mirror. The camera men are everywhere, and there are more than I remember from last season, but I ignore them. I know that they're focused on me.  
>As we wait for Abby, I look in the mirror. I see a few loose strands of dark hair fall from Kendall's bun and smirk a little, knowing that it will irritate her as soon as she finds out, and Abby won't let her leave rehearsal to fix it. I notice that Nia and Mackenzie are both wearing Abby Lee dance wear, and wonder if I should have picked that instead of my pale pink crop top and booty shorts. I shrug my concerns off, examining myself in the mirror. I see the co-ordination of my own outfit, down to the pink hairband, and smile, glad that I chose this instead. It's not like Abby could ever be mad at me anyway. I sometimes wish I wasn't the favourite, and everyone could be treated the same, but it also has advantages for me - things that I'm not quite willing to give up, like a solo every week and always getting good costumes &amp; music.<br>Abby storms into the room, and I see my mom flinch slightly as the heavy door slams into the frame.  
>"Pyramid. There were no competitions over summer, but I still have a lot to work with." She announces, peeling off the first sheet of paper.<br>"Mackenzie. You're the youngest dancer on the team, but that's no excuse to slack off. You were right here in Pittsburgh all summer. Maddie was here _every day _and you came for 10 days. Let's hope you aren't too out of practice."  
>My sister nods meekly, still staring at her pyramid photo. Abby moves on to the next photo. I suddenly realise what I should have seen the moment I walked into the room.<br>There are five pyramid photos.  
><em>Five<em>.  
>I hardly pay attention to Kendall's critiques and Abby's comments about Nia as I think about who it could be. What if...what if Chloe is coming back, or Brooke or Paige? Actually, not Brooke, she would <em>definitely<em> be on the senior team by now.  
>Maybe it's someone entirely new.<br>"Maddie. You were here every day of the summer, working on your dance skills. The shining example for you three," Abby points at Mackenzie, Kendall and Nia, and I start to feel a little guilty. I stick my hand up.  
>"Yes, Maddie?"<br>"What about the last photo?" I ask. It's parallel to mine, about a metre to the right of the pyramid.  
>Abby smiles.<br>"I'm glad you asked. As our team has been reduced to four dancers, there _is_ a new member..."  
>All eyes turn to the studio door as it opens. A girl walks in, showing off her long skinny legs in a short, pale pink leotard with dark pink straps. She stands next to me, flashing me a smile before she flicks her hair over her shoulder. Glancing in the mirror, I wish she'd worn another colour, because pink looks infinitely better on her tall, slim frame. I look childish and silly next to her, like I'm trying to copy her look.<br>Her hair's even in the same style.  
>It's probably just a coincidence.<br>But maybe it isn't.  
>"I would like you to welcome Kalani and her mom Kira to the team."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"This week, there will be two solos. Maddie, you have a lyrical piece called Fragile Forest, and... Kendall. You have a jazz solo called He's History. The group dance is called Frozen Together, and it's based on the movie, Frozen. We'll start with the group dance, so go and warm up." Abby tells us. I smile as I slide into box splits beside the mirror. I was expecting a solo anyway - Abby _always_ gives me a solo, duet or trio - and it's lyrical, one of my best styles. Kalani sits next to me as she stretches, and we talk about what we did over summer until Abby comes back into the room.  
>"You've all watched Frozen, so you know that it's about two sisters. There will be two lead roles in the group dance, because we need an Anna and an Elsa, which will be...Maddie, as Anna..." I bite my lip. I know that Anna's an important role, but everyone is hoping to be cast as Elsa, the <em>real<em> lead of the dance.  
>"And our Elsa will be...Kalani. Okay, you need to start at the four corners of the stage, with Kalani in the centre. Maddie, you need to step forward and reach out to her, but as if you're stuck and you can't reach her..."<br>I spend the rest of rehearsal following Kalani, or as Abby said, shadowing her. We still haven't finished the group number, but after lunch she moves on to solo rehearsals.  
>"Maddie, your solo is called Fragile Forest. It's all about how we're damaging forests with things like global warming, so it needs to have a lot of emotion." Abby explains as I stand by the mirror. She tells me about the choreography and I run through the dance a few times, watching my reflection as I leap and turn in time to the music.<br>"Good, that was great. If you can just get the energy a little higher and repeat that at the competition, you'll be first for sure. Now send Kendall in for her rehearsal," she tells me, and I nod, walking into the dancers' den.  
>"Kendall, it's your solo practice now."<br>She twirls a loose strand of hair around her finger, tucking it neatly into her bun before she walks past me.  
>Mackenzie walks into the room, followed by two camera men.<br>"This season, the interviews are done as things happen, so you won't have to skip a day of rehearsal for interviews about the previous week." One of them explains. "Maddie, we need to film your interview now."  
>I follow them outside and sit on the grass, where we've always filmed the interviews.<br>"How do you feel about Kalani joining the team again?" One of them asks.  
>I smile. "She's my friend, so of course I'm happy. I hope we'll get more new dancers, because five is a little small for a team."<br>_I'm happy she's here, but not as a dancer, _I want to add_, and I wish she would leave the studio,_ but I know by now that they can twist anything you say. I keep my answers short and simple.

**AN: Up to chapter 10 will all be added today as I have been writing this for a while. Newer chapters will be uploaded as I write them.**


	3. Chapter 3

The first hour of the bus ride is peaceful. I sit with Kendall and we watch a movie on my iPad. Kalani sits with Nia, and Mackenzie is left sitting on her own, reading a book for a school project. Kenzie always loved school, so Mom put her in part-time school a few months ago.  
>The second hour? Not so much. Abby suddenly announces that when we get to the competition, solos will be first, and that we'll only have twenty minutes before my solo, which is three routines before Kendall's. I start on my makeup as she gets changed, and then we swap. The camera crews sit in the seats at the front, filming us as we show off our costumes. Kendall's is a pretty white dress which ends at the knee, and a floral headpiece. When I step out of the bathroom, there is silence, telling me that for once, my costume isn't stunning or beautiful. I look down at the green dress that swirls around my knees, adorned with fake leaves and branches. Mom seems to sense my discomfort, and comments on its authenticity. I walk back to my seat and finish my makeup, the pale green eyeshadow and eyeliner that swirls around the corners of my eyes. The bus parks outside the venue, and I put my makeup away, slip my ALDC jacket on and get off. We all follow Abby to the doors as fans wave and take photos. I'm so glad that Cathy isn't here this week. Her rotten apples aren't good, but she can be sneaky. She's tried to sabotage our routines more than once. I follow the group to a dressing room with ALDC written on the sheet of paper that's taped to the door. There's only time to run through my dance once before I have to go and wait in the wings. I stretch as I watch the solo before mine, an eight year old in a fairy costume performing an acro solo. She's nearly as good as Mackenzie, and I bet she'll win, or at least place, in the mini solo division. I hear a noise behind me and turn around, but all I see is a flash of blonde hair as whoever was there runs away. I frown, but shrug it off as a scared dancer, or someone who's just realized that they're on the wrong side of the stage.<br>"Now we have Maddie Ziegler from the Abby Lee Dance Company, performing Fragile Forest." I step onto the stage, sitting in my starting position at the left. The dance goes well, as far as I know, but what did the judges think? My costume isn't beautiful, like Kendall's white dress, but her solo's jazz, which almost never wins. I walk off stage and nearly get hit by another dancer's foot as she brings her leg down from a tilt. She turns around, her blonde hair falling in loose curls over the name on her Studio 19 jacket.  
>"God, I'm sorry-" She starts, before she realizes who I am.<br>I blink. She isn't supposed to be here. I'm sure Abby would know, or find out, who the main competition was before I went on stage, and she would warn me... but maybe she doesn't know.  
>The girl's eyes turn cold and she looks away before sliding down into the splits. I walk quickly back to the dressing room, ignoring the fans that yell and take photos as I walk past the door.<br>I push past Mackenzie to the main space in the dressing room, where Kendall's just finished running through her dance. Abby praises her and she heads to her mirror to adjust her headpiece, but I stop her.  
>"Kendall."<br>She's already nervous, and for a second I wonder whether I should tell her or not. It might make her worse.  
>But I wish I'd known before I went on stage, so I decided to tell her anyway.<br>"I thought you should know..."  
>"Know what?" She snaps impatiently, clipping a loose strand of hair back.<br>"She's here, and I thought Abby would know, so..."  
>"Just get to the point. Who's she?"<br>"Chloe. Chloe's here, with Studio 19."


	4. Chapter 4

I quickly change into my costume for the group dance, which is a blue and silver dress. I wipe off my makeup from my solo and start to apply silver eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick. I glance at the wall behind my vanity and see Kalani sitting with Mackenzie. As Elsa, she's wearing a tall silver crown. It makes my sparkly little tiara look unimportant. I pull my hair into a tight bun and put my tiara on, checking that it looks okay in the mirror. Kendall comes back in from her solo smiling.  
>"I did it, I nailed it. If she has a solo, I'm so gonna beat her." She tells me, a little too loudly, and Abby overhears.<br>"Who are you going to beat?" She asks, turning to Kendall.  
>"Chloe. She's here with Studio 19, but I don't know if she has a solo."<br>Kendall gets on with her makeup and costume while Abby reads the list of dances that are competing today.  
>"She's doing a duet with Zack Torres." She reads out, "and it's scheduled to be the fourth before the end of the duets and trios."<br>I follow my mom out of the room to the audience. The group dance isn't for another hour, so I might as well watch the other studios. I sit through twenty minutes of dancing before Chloe comes on.  
>"Please welcome to the stage, Chloe Lukasiak &amp; Zack Torres, performing a lyrical teen duet called Wonderland." I clap along with everyone else, but I don't want her to win.<br>I don't want Chloe Lukasiak to win anything ever again.  
>Not anymore.<br>The music starts and I recognise the song as Wonderland, by Taylor Swift.  
>Zack's wearing a black suit, and Chloe's costume is a sky blue dress that puffs out at the waist and stops at the knees. It has short sleeves and a white apron is tied around her waist.<br>She looks like Alice.  
>For the first few seconds, Zack and Chloe are perfectly synchronised in their turn combo, before they move on to the next section. I hate to admit it, but their duet is stunning, and I don't see any flaws.<br>A few minutes later, Abby stands up to leave, and we all follow. She walks to the wings with us and we watch the trio that's on before us. We're the first group dance of the night. The stage darkens and Kalani takes her starting position in the middle. I crouch at the back left corner, waiting for the music to start.  
>Kalani stands and leans into a tilt, and I do the same. I follow her every move, through the turns and leaps of the first half, until it's my solo section. Kendall, Nia and Mackenzie sit at the back of the stage, focused on perfecting the floor work that nobody's even watching. Kalani runs and "falls" at the side of the stage, leaving me doing a set of coupe turns in the centre of the stage, then stretching out of them into a grand jete. I slide down to my knees and reach towards Kalani...and my solo section is over. There's a short turn combo at the end, then the dance is over too, and we leave the stage as it darkens.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I only have time to drink some water and grab my ALDC jacket from the dressing room before awards. We walk out onto the stage and sit at the front as the announcer stands at the right side.  
>"It is time to announce the winners of tonight's competition. We'll start with the mini solo division..." I tune out as they award the prizes for mini and junior solos. Kendall and I are in the teen division now.<br>"And now we have the teen solo awards. In tenth place, Mia from Club Dance, performing Gentle Breeze. And in ninth..." I grip Kendall's hand tightly until they get to fourth, and neither of us have been mentioned.  
>"In third place, performing He's History, is Kendall Vertes from the Abby Lee Dance Company!" We cheer as Kendall walks up to collect her medal, smiling brightly.<br>"In second place is Ella from Studio 19, performing Blue Skies!" I watch as Chloe claps and cheers for her new teammate.  
>This isn't how it's supposed to be.<br>I pull my attention back to the awards.  
>"And in first place, with Fragile Forest, is Maddie Ziegler from the Abby Lee Dance Company!" I walk up to collect my medal and stand at the top end of the line. A minute later, we all go and sit down as they start the duotrio awards. I stop listening and fiddle with my bracelet instead, but I can't help hearing the teen winners.  
>"Our first place teen duotrio is Wonderland, performed by Chloe Lukasiak and Zack Torres of Studio 19!"  
>I watch Studio 19 for their reaction. Everyone is smiling and clapping, and I see Chloe hug her duet partner before they walk up to collect the award.<br>That used to be me.  
>It was me that she'd hold hands with as we waited to see if we'd won or hadn't placed, and it was me that she'd hug when either one of us won.<br>I'm snapped out of my thoughts as they move on to teen small group.  
>"In third place...Run The World, from Club Dance."<br>I don't want us to win. I want us to be second, and prove to Abby that Kalani won't help us win-  
>"In second place...Wild Horses, from Studio 19."<br>I sigh silently. I can tell that we've won already.  
>"And our first place teen small group is...Frozen Together, by the Abby Lee Dance Company!"<br>I hardly listen to anything after that, but I hear Studio 19 come first in teen large group.


	6. Chapter 6

"Pyramid. I have a lot to work with this week, and a lot to say about every single one of you." Abby announces. The cameras are even closer and more distracting this week.  
>"First, Mackenzie. You fooled around in the dressing room, you could have got hurt. That's why you're at the bottom."<br>She rips the paper from the next photo.  
>"Nia. You were average. You didn't have a solo, a duet, a trio, or a lead in the group dance. You just blended in."<br>She moves up to the next row.  
>"Kendall, that jazz routine was a winner. You could have nailed it, but you slipped up. I knew that I shouldn't have put that complex combo in at the end, but your mother insisted. It's her fault that you weren't right next to Maddie."<br>I frown. That means Kalani's in the top two, even though she only had the lead in the group dance, and not a solo. Abby's only ever done that for me.  
>I shrug it off as a welcoming gesture. Abby's always had a soft spot for Kalani since she was on AUDC, but I've been her favorite for years. It's not like I can be replaced.<br>"Kalani, you were amazing in that group dance. You led the rest of the group in our win, and you were very expressive with your face. Mackenzie, this is what you need to do." Abby says before she moves up to my photo.  
>"Maddie, you were perfect. Your solo was flawless, and I don't know why you didn't get a perfect score for that. In the group dance, you really portrayed Anna. You got my attention in a good way, that didn't distract me from Kalani."<br>I sigh. I know that it'll wear off soon enough, and Kalani will be like Kendall & Nia, a background dancer.  
>"This week, we have another new dancer. Five is a little small for a group dance, and I'd like to mix it up a little. Who have we never had as a member of the team for more than a week or so?" Abby asks.<br>Mackenzie's hand shoots up. "Payton?" She suggests, and Abby sighs.  
>"No, not Payton. Come on, girls, think about it."<br>Girls...  
>Girls.<br>I stick my hand up at the same time as Kalani. I know that the cameras are zooming in on us and Abby. Everything we do is turned into a rivalry now.  
>"Kalani, do you know what it is?" Abby says, and the tall brunette nods.<br>"A boy."  
>As if on cue - well, he's probably been told to come in by Gianna, who is suspiciously absent from pyramid - a tall boy walks in, and adds himself to the end of the line, next to Nia.<br>"Girls, this is Adam. He's joining the team permanently."  
>She doesn't mean permanently. She means a few weeks. Kendall's the only new dancer that's ever lasted.<br>"Anyway, onto the routines. This week, we won't be having any solos." The camera crews inch closer, desperate to capture our reactions.  
>"Maddie &amp; Kalani. Kendall &amp; Mackenzie. Nia &amp; Adam. These are your pairs for the duets this week. Maddie, Kalani - you have a lyrical dance called Individual. Kendall, Mackenzie - you will be performing an acro routine called Catch Me, and Nia &amp; Adam will be performing a hip hop duet entitled Boyfriend."<p> 


End file.
